Roger Waters Dismisses David Gilmour as “Irrelevant” to His Life in New Interview
via El Muro De Pink Floyd / YouTube
Waters Reflects on Former Bandmates
Roger Waters has made it clear that his relationship with former Pink Floyd bandmate David Gilmour is no longer a part of his life. In a candid interview, the bassist described the guitarist as “irrelevant” to him, despite the years they spent working together in one of rock’s most influential groups.
Waters, who left Pink Floyd in 1985, spoke openly about his distance from Gilmour and the late Richard Wright. While he admitted he would have welcomed another chance to perform with the band after their celebrated 2005 Live 8 reunion, Waters stressed that friendships within the group never truly existed.
“We Were Never Really Friends”
He explained the lack of closeness in plain terms. “I think it would be very cordial if we ever spoke to each other, but we don’t inhabit the same world socially,” Waters told Word Magazine. “Rick and I were never really friends, and Dave and I were never really friends, so the fact that we are still no longer really friends is kind of irrelevant to all of our lives.”
His words echo long-standing reports of tension within the band, even during high-profile reunions. Although the Live 8 performance brought the original members back together for the first time in over two decades, the atmosphere backstage was anything but warm.
View this post on Instagram
The Mood Before Live 8
Polly Samson, novelist and lyricist as well as Gilmour’s wife, recalled just how uncomfortable the atmosphere was in the lead-up to the charity concert. According to her, conversations between the bandmates were non-existent.
“David wanted something as a full stop to the whole Pink Floyd thing. So, without a piece of music, I wrote Louder Than Words. It was an easy lyric to write because for years I’d noticed this thing. If you’re in a room with David, Nick [Mason] and Rick, or as I was in at Live 8 with David, Nick, Rick and Roger [Waters], nobody speaks,” Samson told Louder.
Awkwardness Offstage, Harmony Onstage
Samson added that the silence between them was striking. “There is nothing but awkward silences. They have no small talk with each other, they have no big talk with each other, they just do not speak. If you happen to be the unlucky person in the room, it’s the most awkward feeling you can imagine.”
Yet when they stepped onto the stage, the silence vanished. “And then they get onstage with their instruments and suddenly they’re so eloquent, and the way they communicate is beautiful. And so I wrote Louder Than Words just to express that feeling.”
